New owners plan changes for Kaladi's

Mar. 29, 2013

The downtown Kaladi's location will become a second location for Coffea Roasterie. / Jodi Schwan/SFBJ

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Two new ownership groups are making plans for the two Kaladi’s Coffee Legend & Bistro locations.

Owner Susie Patrick is selling the business. She opened the first location at 1716 S. Minnesota Ave. 10 years ago. She added a downtown location five years later and moved to the current spot at 10th Street and Phillips Avenue shortly afterward.

“My priorities have just changed,” Patrick said. “Ten years ago, I thought I was going to open a cute little coffee shop, and what I got was a full-blown restaurant. At 10 years, a restaurant, you kind of need to shake it up a little bit, and I just didn’t have the energy to do it.”

She found eager buyers in Mark and Kaila Gillespie, and Corey and Naida Boadwine, who have years of experience at local restaurants.

The couples will run the Minnesota Avenue location and keep the Kaladi’s name and blends of coffee.

“Susie has done a fantastic job in creating from scratch a very successful establishment,” said Mark Gillespie, who most recently managed the Phillips Avenue Diner. “It’s really become a pillar in the community, so we’re proud to keep the name.”

They will change the flow of the restaurant from one where customers order at the counter to one where they order from the tables. There will be more menu options at all meals including dinner entrees, beer and wine.

“We’re keeping a lot of the favorites everybody knows. We aren’t looking to take that from the current guest,” Gillespie said. “We just want to build on the menu and make it stronger. It’ll be fun at dinner. We can start to talk steak and chop and salmon.”

The location will transition to the new set-up in May and might be closed for a couple of days. The new owners will honor any outstanding gift cards.

The downtown Kaladi’s location will become a second location for Coffea Roasterie, which opened four years ago at 2318 S. Louise Ave.

“They’re a locally owned business, which I think is critical for support downtown,” Patrick said. “And their product, honestly, is phenomenal, and to keep that coffee shop feel on that corner, they were just an ideal fit.”

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Co-owners Jennifer Swanson and Jenna Aukerman hope to open downtown mid-May and initially offer a menu similar to the first Coffea location. The coffee shop serves a variety of coffee drinks and teas, uses local milk and makes most of its syrups from scratch using local and organic ingredients.

“We try to find ways to showcase our coffee in a culinary way and love to be innovative and seasonal with our menu,” Aukerman said. “We may have a little fun with another location and attempt different specialty drinks to highlight the creativity of our baristas.”

Coffea doesn’t plan to offer food other than baked goods.

“We are coffee geeks at heart,” Aukerman said, adding that the business roasts its own coffee and each barista usually has six months of training before crafting drinks.

Coffea has nearly 20 coffees with high ratings on a national scale. Aukerman said the owners hope to do coffee classes and other special events to tie into the downtown community.

“We love the idea of being downtown because it provides a more intimate feel and environment,” she said. “We also hope to reach a part of the community that normally doesn’t travel to the west side as often.”

As she leaves the Kaladi’s brand behind, Patrick said she plans to continue owning the two Breadsmith locations here.

“It was great timing,” she said. “It’s good for everybody. I feel great about it and really couldn’t have scripted it any better.”